Air intake device in helmet

Abstract: In an air intake device in a helmet, a recess (8) is defined in a front wall of a shell (4) of a cap body (1) so as to be recessed inwardly of the shell, and has an opening (9) defined in an upper surface of the recess to communicate with the inside of the cap body. A shutter plate (10) is inserted into the opening (9) for opening and closing the recess (8). A guide rod (13) projects from a back surface of the shutter plate (10), so that it comes into sliding contact with an innermost wall of the recess (8) and is slidably received in a guide hole (12) provided in a lower wall of the recess (8). The shell (4) of the cap body (1) provides a shutter housing, thereby eliminating the need for a separate shutter housing and simplifying the air intake device.

Description: The field of the present invention is helmets for use mainly by an occupant on a motorcycle or a racing car, and particularly, air intake devices for ventilation of the inside of a cap body. Such air intake devices in the helmets are already known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7211/93. In the disclosed air intake device, a shutter housing for vertically movably retaining a shutter plate is joined to an outer surface of a cap body, and an air intake hole capable of communicating with an air duct in the cap body is provided in the shutter housing. In these prior art air intake device, a shutter housing separate from the cap body is required in order to retain the shutter plate. Therefore, working steps such as forming and mounting of the shutter housing are an obstacle to a reduction in cost, and a simplification in structure is desired. DE-U-8606296 describes a helmet having an air vent which can be closed by a shutter plate or slide. Two attachment projections are provided on the shutter plate which retain the shutter plate to the air vent. These projections hook through slotted openings or slits of the air vent. The air vent is provided on a side of the helmet and in one embodiment may be closed off by a pivoting slide. The slide is pivotably connected to the shell by a pivot pin which is fixed to the shell. The present invention seeks to provide an air intake device having a stable support of a shutter plate which does not spoil the appearance of the helmet. According to the present invention, there is provided an air intake device in a helmet, comprising: a shell of a cap body formed with a recess which is recessed inwardly from a front surface of the shell and is provided at an upper surface of the recess with an opening which communicates with the interior of the cap body; a shutter plate which is vertically movable along an inner surface of the shell at a position immediately above the recess for opening and closing the recess; a guide rod projecting from a back surface of the shutter plate to provide sliding contact with an innermost wall of the recess; and a guide hole provided in a lower wall of the recess for slidably receiving said guide rod. With the above construction, it is possible for the shell to retain the shutter plate, thereby eliminating the need for a separate shutter housing, which largely contributes to a simplification in structure of the air intake device and to a reduction in production cost. For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig.1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a helmet including an air intake device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig.2 is a front view of a portion of the helmet; Fig.3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in Fig.2; Fig.4 is a sectional view similar to Fig.3, illustrating a fully closed state of a shutter plate; Fig.5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in Fig.4; Fig.6 is an exploded perspective view of the air intake view according to the present invention; and Fig.7 is a sectional view similar to Fig.3, illustrating the mounting of the shutter plate. Referring first to Fig.1, a cap body 1 of a crash helmet is formed into a full face type having a chin covering portion la provided immediately below a window 2 opened at a front surface of the cap body 1, and includes a shield plate 3 for opening and closing the window 2. The cap body 1 further includes a shell 4 made of FRP, a shock absorbing liner 5 made of expanded polystyrene material mounted to an inner surface of the shell 4 excluding the chin covering portion 1a, a fitting pad 6 made of urethane foam material mounted in place on an inner surface of the shock absorbing liner 5, and a chin pad 7 made of urethane foam material mounted on an inner surface of the shell 5 at the chin covering portion 1a. As shown in Figs.2, 3, 5 and 6, a laterally elongated recess 8 is formed in a central portion of the shell 4, such that the recess 8 is recessed inwardly into the shell 4. A shutter plate 10 is also disposed on the central portion of the shell 4 for opening and closing an opening in a front surface of the recess 8. The recess 8 is provided at an upper surface thereof with an opening 9. A through hole 11 is perforated in an innermost wall of the recess 8. Further, a pair of left and right guide holes 12, 12 are provided in a lower wall of the recess 8. The shutter plate 10 is disposed such that it can move vertically within the shell 4 along the inner surface of the shell 4 at a position immediately above the recess 8. A pair of guide rods 13, 13 are integrally provided on a back surface of the shutter plate 10. These guide rods extend downwardly in sliding contact with the innermost wall of the recess 8, and are slidably received into guide holes 12, 12. The shutter plate 10 is provided along its length at a lower edge thereof with a knob 14 which projects forwardly of the recess 8. The abutment of the knob 14 against an upper edge of the recess 8 restrains a lifted position A (see Figs.2 and 3) of the shutter plate 10 in which the recess 8 is fully opened. On the other hand, the abutment of the knob 14 against a lower edge of the recess 8 restrains a lowered position B (see Figs.4 and 5) of the shutter plate 8 in which the recess 8 is fully closed. Several notches 15, 15 are vertically arranged in a front surface of the shutter plate 10. A small projection 16 is provided on the inner surface of the shell 4, so that they are selectively brought into engagement with one of the notches 15, 15 by a resilient force of the shell 4 so as to retain the shutter plate 10 at a desired opened position. A plurality of wind guide holes 17, 17 are provided in the chin pad 7 in an opposed relation to the innermost wall of the recess 8. A mesh-like filter 18 is affixed to a front surface of the chin pad 7 for covering the wind guide holes 17, 17. A flange 4a is formed around an upper edge of the shell 4 at the chin covering portion 1a in such a manner that it is offset inwardly of the shell 4. A sealing member 19 having a U-shaped section is mounted to the flange 4a to come into contact with an inner surface of the shield plate 3. A large number of projections 20, 20 --- are formed on an outer surface of a rear wall 19a of the sealing member 19 to extend vertically into abutment against a front surface of the chin pad 7. A large number of second wind guide holes 21, 21 --- are defined between the adjacent projections 20, 20 --- to communicate with the opening 9 of the recess 8. The operation of this embodiment will be described below. In attaching the shutter plate 10, the chin pad 7 is pushed rearwardly, i.e., inwardly of the cap body 1, and the rear wall 19a of the sealing member 19 is turned upwardly, as shown in Fig.7. In this state, the shutter plate 10 is accommodated from the inside of the shell 4 at the chin covering portion 1a through the opening 9 into the recess 8, and the guide rods 13 are inserted into the guide holes 12. At this stage, it is desirable to resiliently deform the shell 4 so as to widen the opening 9 in order to facilitate the accommodation of the shutter plate 10 into the recess 8. If a driver of a motorcycle wears the helmet according to the present invention with the shutter plate 10 lifted to open the recess 8, as shown in Figs.2 and 3, the influx of air generated when driving the motorcycle enters the recess 8, and a portion of the air is filtered by the filter 18 and passed through the first wind guide holes 17 into the chin covering portion 1a to ventilate a portion around a user's mouth. The other portion of the air from the recess 8 is passed through the opening 9 and ejected upwardly from the second wind guide holes 21, 21 --- to flow upwardly along the inner surface of the shield plate 3. Thus it is possible to reduce condensation on the inner surface of the shield plate 3 due to the user's breath. Next, if the shutter plate is lowered to a moderate extent by operating the knob 14, the opening degree of the recess 8 is adjusted in accordance with the amount that knob 14 is lowered. Therefore, the amount of air introduced into the first and second wind guide holes 17 and 21 can be adjusted. If the shutter plate 10 is lowered to the lowermost position as shown in Figs. and 5, the recess 8 can be fully closed to stop the influx of air. The shutter plate 10 is always supported at three points on the shell 4 with good stability, because the front surface of the shutter plate 10 is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the shell 4 at the chin covering portion 1a, and the guide rods 13 are in sliding contact with the innermost wall of the recess 8 and received in the guide holes 12 in the lower wall of the recess 8. Therefore, the shell 4 functions as a shutter housing for retaining the shutter plate 10 and thus there is no need for providing a separate shutter housing. Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications in design can be made without departing from the scope of the invention defined in claims. For example, the air intake device according to the present invention may be provided immediately above the window 2 in the cap body 1, and the opening 9 of the recess 8 may communicate with an air duct in the shock absorbing liner 5.

Claims: An air intake device in a helmet, comprising: a shell (4) of a cap body (1) formed with a recess (8) which is recessed inwardly from a front surface of the shell (4) and is provided at an upper surface of the recess (8) with an opening which communicates with the interior of the cap body; a shutter plate (10) which is vertically movable along an inner surface of the shell (4) at a position immediately above the recess (8) for opening and closing the recess (8); a guide rod (13) projecting from a back surface of the shutter plate (10) to provide sliding contact with an innermost wall of the recess (8); and a guide hole (12) provided in a lower wall of the recess (8) for slidably receiving said guide rod (13). An air intake device according to claim 1, wherein a small projection (16) is provided on the inner surface of the shell (4) and a plurality of notches (15) are provided on the front surface of the shutter plate (10), the small projection (16) being engaged with respective notches (15) at predetermined vertical positions of the shutter plate (10) within the recess (8) thereby to hold the shutter plate (10) in those positions. An air intake device according to claim 1, wherein said shutter plate (10) has a knob (14) provided at a lower edge thereof, the knob (14) projecting forwardly of the recess (8). An air intake device according to claim 3, wherein said knob (14) defines a lifted full-open position (A) of the shutter plate (10) by abutting against an upper edge of the recess (8) and defines a lowered full-closed position (B) of the shutter plate (10) by abutting against a lower edge of the recess (8). An air intake device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a through hole (11) is provided in the innermost wall of the recess (8) that communicates the recess (8) with the interior of the cap body (1).

Inventors: TANIUCHI FUJIO, TANIUCHI, FUJIO, TANIUCHI, FUJIO, C/O SHOEI KAKO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicants: SHOEI CO LTD, KABUSHIKI KAISHA SHOEI
Application year: 1994
Main classification: A42B3
IPC codes: A42B3